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INTRODUCTION
Business strategies are formulated to determine the way in which organizations can move from their current competitive position to a new stronger one. This can only be achieved by improving an organization's competitiveness. A universal and exact definition for competitiveness does not exist. As a result, competitiveness means different things to different organizations. Some organizations view competitiveness as the ability to persuade customers to choose their offerings over alternatives while others view competitiveness as the ability to improve continuously process capabilities. In other words, core competences as well as capabilities that drive such competences are considered to form the essence of competitiveness. However, these factors are interrelated and difficult to quantify, thereby reducing the potential of their application in the process of strategy development. There is a need for a holistic definition of competitiveness which makes it possible to determine the competitive position of an organization in a measurable form. Such a measurement should allow a comparison of the competitive position of an organization against that of its competitors.
This article proposes a framework for defining competitiveness in a way which enables the measurement of an organization's competitive position through a mapping process of its business environment. In doing so
* Redefine the concept of competitiveness by integrating the notions of customer values, shareholder values and an organization's ability to act and react within its changing competitive environment.
* Introduce the concept of sustainable competitiveness and demonstrate the conflicting nature of the factors which determine an organization's competitiveness.
* Develop a concept which enables mapping the competitive position of an organization and its competitors.
* Construct a framework for measuring competitiveness.
* Demonstrate the way in which the competitive position map can be used in the development of business strategies.
REDEFINING COMPETITIVENESS
In determining a definition for competitiveness it is important to question the raison d'etre of an organization and the key players who determine its survival. Many of the current definitions of competitiveness are mainly based on the capabilities and offerings of an organization in relation to the competitors[1-3]. In other words, the key players are the organization, its customers and competitors. No account is given to the shareholders who provide the necessary capital base and influence the business objectives. Furthermore, the current...